In wrestling, you compete against people in the same weight class. This provides an incentive to drop down into a lower weight class, allowing you to be on the larger end of the weight range. Although this can be give you a competitive advantage, it isn't always the best choice for your health. Wrestlers will often drop too much weight, too fast. To keep yourself healthy, maintain a minimum body fat percentage and avoid rapid weight loss.

Unhealthy Weight Loss

High school and collegiate wrestlers lose and average of 4 to 5 pounds per week, and 20 percent of wrestlers lose 6 to 7 pounds or more weekly, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Many of these wrestlers already have minimal body fat. The ACSM reports that in-season wrestlers usually have just 6 to 7 percent body fat. Chuck Whedon, the coordinator of athletic training at Rowan University in New Jersey, advises that you should not reduce your body fat below 6 percent.

Effects of Unhealthy Weight Loss

When you lose weight at a rate of more than 1 to 2 pounds per week, you are not only just losing fat, but also you're likely losing muscle and water. Wrestlers who use sweating techniques, laxatives and self-induced vomiting to lose weight quickly before a weigh in can also lose electrolytes that the body needs to function properly. To replenish bodily fluids, it can take 24 to 48 hours, muscle glycogen takes 72 hours to be replenished and muscle tissue takes several days. If you reduce your weight rapidly before a weigh in, your body won't have time to recover before competition.

Healthy Weight Loss

It's important to maintain a healthy body fat percentage when losing weight. Whedon claims that wrestlers should keep their offseason body fat at around 10 to 12 percent. During the wrestling season, you can reduce your body fat percentage to between 6 and 8 percent, but you don't want to go any lower or you will risk muscle loss and fatigue. Whedon also recommends keeping weight loss at a healthy rate of no more than 1 or 2 pounds weekly.

How to Lose Weight

The ACSM recommends that wrestlers consume 1,700 to 2,500 calories per day, at a minimum, with 55 percent of these calories coming from carbohydrates, 30 percent coming from fat and 15 to 20 percent coming from protein. Whedon recommends using interval training to burn calories and increase you anaerobic fitness. For instance, you might alternate between sprint cycling for 30 to 40 seconds and cycling at a comfortable pace for 90 to 120 seconds for a total of 30 minutes. Weight loss should be fat loss, not water loss, so consume at least eight glasses of water daily and more when you work out.